


I Don't Want the Moon

by completelyuncreative2



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:15:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25597918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/completelyuncreative2/pseuds/completelyuncreative2
Summary: Dan has graduated from NYU and needs to find a place to live in New York with very little money. Cue a cute coffee shop barista who happens to have exactly what Dan needs. This was written for the Phandom Reverse Bang. Thank you to my amazing beta, Tasha.
Relationships: Dan Howell & Phil Lester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8
Collections: Phandom Reverse Bang 2020





	I Don't Want the Moon

Dan walked into a coffee shop he had never heard of before. He normally went to Starbucks, but a friend had recommended this place. So, Dan figured he would try it. He looked around. The place looked like all the pretentious coffee shops he saw on instagram, he didn’t know what else he expected, most of his friends were pretentious. That’s what he gets for being a drama major at one of the most prestigious arts universities in the world, NYU. Dan walked up to the man behind the counter. He was about Dan’s height with pale skin and jet black hair.  
“What would you like?” the man asked.  
“Black coffee,” Dan said.  
The man raised an eyebrow, obviously surprised by the simple order. Dan figured this was probably the kind of place where people ordered their coffee down to the degree it should be served. “Coming right up,” he said.  
Dan sat down at a table toward the back and took out his phone. It was late afternoon, so there weren’t many people there. According to the sign posted in the window, the place was closing in about fifteen minutes.  
The man gave Dan his coffee in a to-go cup, then he started cleaning the store.  
“I can go, if I’m in the way,” Dan said.  
“It’s alright. It’s nice having company. No one usually comes in at this time.”  
Dan nodded, and the man continued wiping down the counters and tables then started singing along to the music playing on the radio. Dan tried to hold back the laugh trying to escape from his throat, but he couldn’t.   
The man snapped back to reality. “Sorry,” he said.   
Dan noticed that a blush had spread across the man’s face. “Don’t be.”  
“Like I said, people usually aren’t here now.”  
“So, you forgot I was here.”  
“Not possible.”  
Dan raised his eyebrows at the man, and the man must have just processed what he had said.  
“I should probably go,” Dan said, starting to stand up, “Let you get back to work.”  
“You don’t have to.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yes.”  
Dan sat back down. Another song came on. Dan recognized it, Time is Running Out by Muse, and started bopping along to it.  
“You like this song?” the man asked.  
“Yeah, Muse is one of my favorite bands.”  
“Mine too. My name is Phil, by the way.”  
“Dan.”  
“Nice to meet you Dan.” Phil was just about done cleaning the store. He still needed to wipe down the table Dan was sitting at, and probably mop the floor, but he couldn’t do either of those things while Dan was still there.  
“Nice to meet you too. I’m going to go now and let you finish closing.”  
Phil looked disappointed. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”  
Dan nodded. He didn’t want to commit to anything. This wasn’t really his kind of place, but he did want to see Phil again. Dan left the coffee shop and headed back to his apartment.  
His apartment was actually his parents’ apartment. Although it may as well have been his, since his parents were rarely there. Except for today. When Dan walked through the door, he saw both of them at the kitchen table, and his mother must have cooked because there was pot roast on the stove and three plates on the table.  
“Hi,” Dan said.  
“Hello,” his Dad said.  
“Is everything alright?”  
“Everything is fine,” his mom said, “sit down, Daniel. We need to have a chat.”  
Dan sat.  
“Daniel,” his dad said, “your mother and I have been talking, and we think it’s time for you to start looking for your own place.”  
“What?”  
“Well, you’ve finished university now. You’re an adult. You can’t live with us forever.”  
“I know, but where am I supposed to go? I can’t afford to live on my own.”  
“You have some money saved, you’re working, and your dad and I can help out a little at least for a month or two,” his mom continues.  
Dan didn’t know what to say, not that it mattered, he realized the conversation was over when his mother got up and started serving dinner.  
After dinner, Dan went up to his room and spent the better part of the night on the computer looking up apartments online. None of them were in his price range.

The next morning, well, afternoon, Dan found himself in front of Phil’s coffee shop. That wasn’t the name of it, but it’s how Dan had started thinking of it.   
The coffee shop was relatively empty. There were a few people as far away from the door as possible. Dan thought they must be aspiring screenwriters because their heads were buried in their laptops. He walked up to the counter and was about to order a black coffee, when Phil asked him what was wrong. Dan was trying to hide how upset he was. He used to think he was good at hiding his emotions, but obviously he wasn’t since this practically stranger could see through him. Dan was about to say “nothing,” but he ended up blabbing to Phil about the entire conversation he and his parents had the night before. Phil listened patiently.   
After Dan had finished, Phil said, “Do you want to come over? My shift is over. I have to wait for my cover to get here, but once she does we can go.” Against Dan’s better judgment, he agreed. A smile spread across Phil’s face, “Great.”   
Right on cue, a girl walked up behind Phil. She had clearly come from the staff entrance. Phil greeted the girl, then said “I’m just going to make something and then I’ll get out of your way.” The girl nodded. Dan stood off to the side near the door while he waited for Phil. A few minutes later, Phil came out from behind the counter. He had taken his apron off and he was holding two to-go cups. He held one out to Dan. “Caramel Macchiato. On me.”  
“Thanks,” Dan said. Phil nodded and then they left.

When Dan and Phil got to Phil’s apartment, Dan couldn’t believe it. Phil lived in a two-bedroom apartment on the upper west side. Just the living room was at least the size of his parents’ whole apartment. “Make yourself at home,” Phil said. Dan sat on the couch and noticed Phil’s entertainment system. He had a wall-mounted, flat-screen TV along with several video game consoles on the table underneath, and stacks of video games on either side.  
“I never want to leave this place,” Dan joked.  
“You don’t have to.” Phil said, sitting down next to him. He wasn’t joking.  
“What?” Dan said.  
“Stay here. With me.”  
“I can’t afford this place.”  
“Don’t worry about it.”  
“What do you mean don’t worry about it? I can’t just stay here and not pay rent.”  
“I don’t pay rent here either. My parents bought it for me.”  
“So, I can just stay here? For free?”  
“If you want to.”  
“Of course I want to, but…”  
“But…”  
“Well, what’s in it for you?”  
“What would be in it for me?”  
“I don’t know, but you don’t pay rent, so you don’t want a roommate for money. So, why do you?”  
Phil took a deep breath. “Company.” The simple answer caught Dan off guard. Phil continued, “I never had a real friend before, at least not since I was a kid. I was getting to the point where I was about to put an ad up on Craigslist.” Despite his best efforts, Dan couldn’t hold back the chuckle that escaped from his throat. Phil rolled his eyes. “Anyway, when you came into the shop, I really wanted to be friends with you, but I could tell it wasn’t your kind of place…”  
“How?”  
“I could tell you were hesitant when I asked if I would see you again. So, when I saw you today, I didn’t want to lose the chance again.”  
Dan took all of this in. “But, why me? We don’t even know each other.”  
“I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character, and I know we have the same tastes in music and coffee. Which are the only two things I really care about.”  
Dan laughed. “And video games.”  
“Do you want to play?”  
“Always.”  
“What game?”  
Dan ran his eyes over Phil’s collection. “Mario Kart.”  
Phil set it up, and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing. Dan won more often than not. Around 8pm, Dan said he should probably get going.  
“When will I see you again?”  
“Are you working tomorrow?” Phil shook his head. “So, when can I move in?”  
Phil’s face lit up. “Seriously? You want to?”  
“Yeah. I mean I need to let my parents know first, but since they want me to move out anyway, I don’t think it will be an issue.”  
Phil jumped up and hugged him, nearly toppling both of them over. Dan grabbed onto Phil’s shoulders to steady himself. “I’ll see you soon.” He was about to walk out the door when Phil stopped him. “What?”  
“We don’t have each other’s numbers.” Dan took out his phone and handed it to Phil. Phil put his number in Dan’s phone. “Text me, so I have yours as well.”  
Dan nodded and texted Phil. Phil’s phone buzzed. “I’ll see you soon,” Dan said. Then he left.

When Dan got home, his parents were watching TV in the living room. “Hi,” he called.  
“Hello,” his mom said.  
“How’s apartment hunting going?” his dad asked.  
“Good, I think I found a place.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah”  
“Where?”  
“Upper West Side”  
Dan’s parents looked at each other. “Who’s paying for that?” Mr. Howell asked.  
“A friend.”  
“Since when do you have friends who live on the upper west side?”  
“Since when do you know any of my friends?” Dan shot back.  
“Daniel! Show some respect.”  
“Can’t handle the truth? You haven’t given a shit about me for as long as I can remember. As soon as I was able to take care of myself, you expected me to be an adult.  
“That’s not true, Dan.” his mom said.  
“Really? So, why did I have to get a job when I was fourteen? Why have I always been home alone after school since I was seven? Why are you insisting that I move out of a place that you’re hardly ever in?” When Dan finished, he ran up to his room and slammed the door, leaving his parents in the living room dumbfounded. He knew he was being childish, but he also knew that if he kept going, he was going to cry, and he was not about to give his father the satisfaction of seeing that. When Dan regained his composure, he texted Phil.  
Dan: Can I move in tomorrow?  
Phil: Sure, but are you going to be able to pack everything by then?  
Dan: Do you want to help? ;)  
Phil: Of course! What time?  
Dan: 11  
That was enough time that he would be awake and his parents wouldn’t be home.  
Phil: See you then :)  
Dan smiled to himself and texted Phil his address.

The next morning, Dan woke up to an empty house as expected. His parents typically left for work around 7, and it was already 10. Dan got up and got himself some breakfast before brushing his teeth and taking a shower. By the time he was done it was a quarter to 11. Phil would be there any minute. At five to 11, Dan heard a knock at the door. He opened it and saw Phil standing on the other side. He was holding a bunch of flat cardboard boxes.  
“Hi,” Phil said.  
“Hi,” Dan said, stepping back so Phil could walk through. “You brought your own boxes?”  
“I figured you didn’t have since this was so last minute.”  
Dan felt his face heat up. He couldn’t believe how well Phil knew him already.  
Phil looked around the apartment, and Dan was suddenly conscious about how small the apartment was compared to Phil’s. “Do you want anything? Coffee? Water?”  
“I’m fine, thanks. Should we get started?”  
“Yeah, let’s go.” Dan said, heading towards his bedroom. It only took them a couple of hours to pack everything. Dan didn’t have that much stuff, and he figured he could leave his video games since Phil had all the same ones and more. Dan had gotten a couple of suitcases and threw his clothes and sheets in them. They had packed everything in Phil’s car and were standing on the sidewalk in front of Phil’s car. Dan was seriously considering just leaving and not telling his parents, but then Phil asked if his parents knew he was leaving. Dan considered lying and saying yes, but he knew Phil would be able to see right through him. He shook his head.  
“Dan! You have to tell them!”  
“Why? It will probably take them at least a week to even notice I’m gone.”  
“That can’t be true.”  
“It is.”  
“Dan. Tell them.”  
“Fine.” Dan pulled out his phone and texted his parents that he was moving out. He wanted to send a snarky comment along with it, but he knew Phil was reading the text over his shoulder. “Sent.” Dan said. Phil nodded, and they got in his car and drove to his apartment.

After only a few days, Phil’s apartment, well now his apartment, felt more like home then his parents’ place ever did to him. Especially since Dan didn’t have to worry about rent. He spent some of his time searching for auditions, usually when Phil was working at the coffee shop. The rest of the time he just ate, slept, and played video games. It was exactly how he thought adult life would be when he was a child. He never expected it to actually happen though. Phil got home from the coffee shop a few hours later. He was holding a box. “What’s that?” Dan asked.  
“A present.”  
“You don’t have to do that.”  
“Yes I do.”  
Dan opened the box and saw a Cartier watch. “Phil, I can’t accept this.”  
“Of course you can.”  
“Why would you do this for me?”  
Instead of answering, Phil leaned in and kissed Dan. The kiss caught Dan off guard at first, but after a few seconds, he was kissing Phil back. “That’s why”  
“Phil! You don’t have to buy me expensive watches for me to kiss you!”  
“I want to.”  
A smile spread across Dan’s face. “Come here.” Phil was already right in front of him, so he took a step closer to Dan. Dan kissed Phil harder than before.  
“Wow,” Phil said after Dan had pulled away.  
“You don’t need to buy me anything for me to kiss you.”  
“Ok.”  
“What’s wrong?”  
Phil sighed. “It’s just that with every relationship I’ve been in, the person always expected stuff, you know? Someone finds out that money is no object and then they expect you to buy them the moon.”  
“I don’t want the moon, Phil. Just you. I love you.”  
“I love you too.”


End file.
